Obstacles - just go! Part 2

On the trail again today. I had to stop and laugh out loud when I had the following epiphany:

Obstacles on the trail eventually wear down, get pushed aside, decompose, rot OR someone comes along with a saw.

This thought hit me when I noticed a very dead, very brown leafy limb off to the side of the trail. Over time the trees and limbs that block the path disintegrate back into the path or migrate off the path and out of the way as people continue maneuver around/over/under them. 

This method of gradual erosion works on obstacles that are of the movable, flexible variety. Those bushy, leafy limbs that are easily lifted or held down yield most quickly to a natural breakdown or are easily shifted aside. 

More difficult are the trunks of giant trees that lay across the path. These behemoths have lived for years and are not easily worn away. People will continue to negotiate the obstacle and it will eventually...after years and years...breakdown. You know these kinds of obstacles - day in and day out always in your way.

I've noticed over the last couple years of using the trails, however, that more often than not when there's a big tree blocking the path someone will come along with a saw and simply cleave the offender into pieces which are then easily moved from the path. I like this idea from the perspective of the person being impeded...not so much from the perspective of me as obstacle! 

In what areas of my life am I an obstacle to my own progress or to others? In what areas of my life could I be the wielder of the saw that provides easy progress for those who follow? 

What about you? Can you relate to the obstacle or the person clearing the obstacle? 

Obstacles - just go!

I LOVE to run/walk/hike on the local nature trails. We've got a great park nearby that has several different trail options. Depending on the day, my mood, and the time I have available, I'll either do the 2.25 mile trail or the 4.2 mile trail.

I took the longer trail a couple days ago. The rainstorm the night before left everything beautifully damp and fragrant. Mushrooms were poking out from all over the place and with such variety I was distracted from the trail many times. I think I cleared the trail of EVERY single spider web that had been spun across the trail overnight. I had to stop and photograph the reptile eggs in the middle of the trail, as well as a little well-camouflaged frog that hopped out of my way, and an amazing white flower that looked like it belonged on the set of Avatar.

Plants and critters are welcome distractions from the trail, but due to the recent storms there was a lot of debris on the trail too - leaves, small branches, pine cones, piles of pine needles that had been washed into squishy puddles, etc. These are easy enough to maneuver around or over, but a couple times there were major BIG trees laying across the trail. I did what I always do - climbed over them. As I was climbing over one of these big ol' wet tree trunks it struck me how metaphorical the trail is. In our lives we encounter obstacles every day. Wouldn't it be great if we could simply climb over them and move along without emotional engagement with the obstacle? 

As I thought about obstacles on the trail some more it occurred to me that proceeding around/over/under tree trunks is effortless. You see it in the trail ahead of you and as you approach it becomes obvious where the path of least resistance is. It can be trickier. For instance, there was one spot on the trail that was completely blocked by a wall of leafy, thin branches (imagine the top bushy part of a small tree). This did not deter me. I dealt with the closest branches first holding them back with my hands and stepping on others as I passed through the leafy mess. I got a little wet with this one and imagined that I'd also picked up a few ticks, but otherwise I was able to go about my merry way in the space of just a few seconds.

Sometimes I walk with a friend, but we never consult each other on how to clear these obstacles. We just go. Whoever is in front leads the way and the other follows. We don't talk ugly about the obstacle. We don't have meetings before we try to clear the obstacle. We don't harbor ill will about the obstacle and we don't review our progress before, during, or after the obstacle.

I think I'll try viewing life's obstacles a little more like these trees that block my progress on the trail. Just go. Don't think too much about it and don't try to analyze it. The tree didn't intentionally block MY path. There's no reason to harbor any emotion whatsoever about the tree - it just is.